N. Korea all set for nuke test, timing to come as 'no surprise,' S. Korean minister says

SEOUL, June 27 (Yonhap) -- Unification Minister Kwon Young-se said Monday it would be "no surprise" to see North Korea carry out a nuclear test anytime soon.

His remarks came amid reports the secretive nation has completed related preparations and is waiting for leader Kim Jong-un's call.

Speaking to members of the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club in Seoul, Kwon cited the North's emphasis on taking a hard-line approach of "power for power and head-on contest" it placed during a plenary session of the Workers' Party earlier this month.

"It will not come as a surprise, even if North Korea conducts a nuclear test at any time," he said, raising the need to closely monitor Pyongyang's activities in comprehensive consideration of the situations, including its COVID-19 handling and response to an "acute enteric epidemic" outbreak.

The minister also said the North is seeking to exploit the growing rivalry between the U.S. and China, as well as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in an attempt to alter "the status quo" in regional security via its nuclear development.

"Such a change poses a very serious and fundamental challenge for us in our path toward achieving peace and unification on the Korean Peninsula through North Korea's denuclearization and normalization of inter-Korean relations," he said.

julesyi@yna.co.kr
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